Band 7+: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The graph below shows the number of overseas visitors who came to the UK for different purposes between 1989 and 2009. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

The line graph gives information about the number of travellers for different purposes visiting the UK from 1989 to 2009.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that the number of holiday visitors were the highest at the beginning and at the end of the investigative period. Moreover, visitors who came to the UK for business purposes and meeting friends and relatives had the same dynamic in the growth.

In terms of holiday trips, the number of visitors fluctuated during the whole period, with the exception of 1989-1994, where there was a plateau in the number of visitors, around 6.5 million. After 1994 there was a significant increase, from 6.5 to 9 million, but, by 2004 the number of visitors had decreased to 6.5 million again. Then, the number of visitors reached its peak again, 9 million.

As for the business visits and meeting friends and relatives, their numbers in 1989 were 5 million and 3.5 million, respectively. However, while there was a fall in business trips, leisure purposes had a growth, so their numbers were relatively similar, 4 million. After this, there was a significant rise for both of the categories, where business and meeting reached a peak in 2009, 8 and 7 million, respectively. But the a slight decrease took place, from 8 to 7 in business and from 7 to 6 in meeting friends and relatives.